Episodes

  • If You Got It, Flaunt It: Mel Brooks at 99

    If You Got It, Flaunt It: Mel Brooks at 99
    Feb 19 2026
    In this episode of PopTorah, Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky talk about Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!, the HBO Max documentary celebrating Mel Brooks and a lifetime of unapologetic comedy. From The Producers to Blazing Saddles, Brooks never hid what he was doing or why — using laughter to mock power, puncture tyranny, and refuse the demand for Jewish silence or […]
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    35 mins
  • Faith, False Prophets, and Fool’s Gold in Wake Up Dead Man

    Faith, False Prophets, and Fool’s Gold in Wake Up Dead Man
    Feb 5 2026
    What happens when a miracle involves a murder — and who benefits when the truth stays buried? In this spoiler-filled episode of PopTorah, we dive into Wake Up Dead Man, the darkest and most theologically charged entry in Rian Johnson’s whodunit series. Set inside a fractured church community obsessed with power, purity, and control, the […]
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    38 mins
  • Shadows, Light, and Stranger Things

    Shadows, Light, and Stranger Things
    Jan 22 2026
    Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky return to Hawkins for the final season of the Netflix juggernaut Stranger Things. Beyond monsters and nostalgia, the show offers a sobering meditation on fear, power, and the seductions of militarism and authoritarian control. Through a Jewish lens, the conversation explores what it means to grow up, take responsibility for one another, […]
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    42 mins
  • ‘Wicked’: For Good?

    ‘Wicked’: For Good?
    Jan 9 2026
    What does it really mean to choose the side of “good” — and what does it cost? In this follow-up journey back to Oz, Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky explore Wicked: For Good, the second chapter of Elphaba and Glinda’s story, and what it reveals about loyalty, love, sacrifice, and the messy moral terrain between heroism and […]
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    36 mins
  • The Good, The Bad, and The ‘Wicked’

    The Good, The Bad, and The ‘Wicked’
    Jan 8 2026
    What does it mean to be good? And who gets to decide? In this magical episode of PopTorah, we dive into the world of Wicked, the spellbinding prequel to The Wizard of Oz that flips the script on the nature of good and evil. Join Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky as they explore how the tale […]
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    1 hr
  • Undercover on Campus: ‘A Man on the Inside’ Season 2 and the Purpose of Learning

    Undercover on Campus: ‘A Man on the Inside’ Season 2 and the Purpose of Learning
    Dec 25 2025
    What does it mean to learn, to teach, to remain faithful to ideals in a changing world? Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky discuss A Man on the Inside Season 2 — campus mysteries, human motives, and the deeper questions this witty Netflix comedy invites us to ask. Rabbis Michael Knopf and Jesse Olitzky are lifelong friends, […]
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    38 mins
  • Pluribus’ and the Paradox of Peoplehood

    Pluribus’ and the Paradox of Peoplehood
    Dec 4 2025
    In this episode of PopTorah, Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky explore the haunting and thought-provoking world of AppleTV+’s Pluribus — a series in which nearly all of humanity becomes fused into a single hive mind, leaving only a handful of individuals to wrestle with what it means to remain distinct. Drawing on Jewish wisdom about individuality, community, […]
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    40 mins
  • Bringing ‘Nobody Wants This’ Before the Beit Din

    Bringing ‘Nobody Wants This’ Before the Beit Din
    Nov 13 2025
    The rabbis are back in session! In this episode, Rabbis Knopf and Olitzky convene a Beit Din to deliberate the ethical, emotional, and existential questions raised by Netflix’s Nobody Wants This. Joined by special guest Rabbi Karen Glazer Perolman of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in Short Hills, NJ, the trio puts Netflix’s most Jewish the show on […]
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    1 hr and 2 mins